


If You're Happy and You Know It (Clap Your Hands)

by LostInQueue



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ben has twin girls, Ben was left, Everyone has a story to tell, F/M, Finn is an amazing friend, Gen, Kid stories, Mostly Silliness, Parenting Group, Parents, Rey had a son on her own purposely, tired of being lonely
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:09:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26690434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LostInQueue/pseuds/LostInQueue
Summary: Ben hosts a Parental group for his friends to meet weekly at a school so that they get time on their own in another location to unwind and have some refreshments before going back to the family grind. He's been doing this for years and have made some great headway in his own stressful life with them. Tonight, a new girl, Rey joins them looking for the same sort of feeling of rightness in it all, and Ben cant help but want to focus on her.If only his friends could stop acting like the children they've escaped from for the hour.
Relationships: Finn/Rose Tico, Rey/Ben Solo
Comments: 14
Kudos: 34
Collections: PL LOVE FEST for MyJediLife





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MyJediLife](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyJediLife/gifts).



> This is for you, MyJediLife. I hope it finds you well and brings constant happiness to you, friend. <3
> 
> LadyRhi, thank you for beta-ing this for me! I can't get over how hard I snort-laughed at your side comments. I can still feel them in my forehead--ow! haha. <3 AND EEP thank you for this beautiful moodboard <3 <3
> 
> Also, for your own safety, it's been recommended I add a note not to eat or drink while reading this fic. Please continue responsibly. :D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you LadyRhi and SavingWhatILove for making these amazing moodboards!
> 
> And I cannot thank LadyRhi enough for betaing this chapter! You are a rock star!

[ ](https://ibb.co/FW7x6LS)

[](https://ibb.co/cxrYmxP)

\--Ben--

He can't imagine life without them…

But now they’re thirteen and he’s twenty nine for the twelfth time. Where they’re trying out highlights in their hair, his is naturally sprinkling in long, silver reminders that his life has carried on after his estranged wife left him. He’s had to figure things out on his own. Their two girls had been left with a friend when the split had happened, who wasted no time who wasted no time in getting a father back together with his kids, and Ben the help he deserved. 

Finn may have been something of a floater back then, sort of an on-again-off-again parent. He’d been in his own world while they were growing up, but he was so much more to Ben than a traitor. The word lingered on his lips long after he’d said it, even for years after high school, in fact, and not a day went by that it didn't bother him. They were friends, real friends. And that night, the one the man had come rushing back into his life on, trailing along his precious twins ... that night sealed their wounds with a single look. 

He was there and would always be. And boy, was that true. 

Finn had picked up the ball and ran with it. Any time that Ben needed a moment to step back, without over-using his kindness, Finn was there. At times, he’d have Rose along with him, though not often at first. Thanks to heavy reading, Ben knew she shouldn't come often, so that the girls wouldn’t imprint on her, become too attached… but by the time they turned three, Rose had become a constant presence. 

She was fun and smiled all the time. No matter how corny Finn could be, and no matter how grumpy Ben himself could be, Rose always seemed to light up the room. 

By the time the girls were seven, she had him singing every situational variant line of “If You’re Happy and You Know It, Clap Your Hands” he could think of for the sake of his own sanity. Adriana could have the worst attitude problem, and it would come out of nowhere sometimes, magically inhibiting her from continuing even the simplest tasks. Yaretzi, on the other hand, simply loved everything… well, everything except for the nasty faces and the bossiness that would come out of her sister. 

Rose’s implementation of that song, as catchy and irritating as it was, helped him cope when things just seemed to fall apart around him. 

Gods, it’s been six years of bringing them up with that tune playing in his mind while the girls fixed themselves up for school, fighting over who’s hair brush was missing, or breakfast -- who got the last of the fragrant blueberry waffles. He didn't mind it ever being a true staple in the house, but the absolute worst was when he’d mix up the laundry. 

And… no, he doesn’t want to remember how everyone seemed to forget his song and dance, trying to help them see that Dad is not, in fact a woman, and does _not_ want to know what artistic frill his daughters are trying out under their… nope… no.

By the time Finn proposed, Rose was already a designated “Aunt” who made sure the girls could explore themselves through fashion. She also made a point to teach Ben not to be such a hypocrite about what his daughters wore, claiming she’d seen the pictures from when he and Finn were teens. 

That was an interesting story. Another one he would like stricken from the record… but that's besides the point. 

Today is Tuesday. 

The girls are with Aunt Rose, having a playdate… do they even call it that anymore? Ben shakes his head; that’s not it. Hanging out - that was the term. 

They were going to help Rose watch a kid she knew. His parents were going out, or something, which seemed nice of her to do. Given her credentials with his girls, he was positive they would have a good time, no matter what they were doing. 

As for him, it’s time to get ready for his Parenting Support Group, another one of the couple’s suggestions, way back when. This activity got him out of the house for more than a couple hours, and sometimes even helped him actually take in the world around him. Parenting could trip his every nerve at times, but the girls were worth it… all of it… all of him. They didn't deserve being walked out on, as he hadn’t, but Ben couldn't let go like _she_ could. 

Every time a crappy memory came to him, he’d hum the tune, usually without words, and soon he could reconnect with the world again. It was like his coffee. A verse was a sip, the whole song was a cup, and life could just be better again. 

“How ya doin’, man?” Finn nods at him as the two set up for his meeting, bringing in donuts and said-liquid life for his guests that evening. 

“Good, better… I’m better,” Ben replies. 

“Good,” Finn answers, popping open one of the boxes for first dibs. 

“Already?” 

“Yeah, man,” Finn nods at the bottom box. “You do not know what I went through for you to wipe out the entire rack of glazed pumpkin spiced donuts, and how fast I had to drive over here so I could avoid the rioting. I deserve first dibs!”

Ben had to stick his tongue in his cheek to hide his laughter, his friend following suit as he turns around to assess him. 

“So?” Finn prompts.

“What?”

“I dunno, you tell me…”

“I don't know what you’re getting at,” Ben says, unbuttoning his cuffs to roll up his sleeves. It gives him an excuse to look away from his friend’s all-too-knowing gaze.

“Oh, don't pull that. You came in here looking like...wait… did you get it?” Finn asks excitedly.

“I mean I have the second interview down, so maybe?” he admits.

“No shit! We need to celebrate,” Finn cheers with his half-eaten éclair still fisted in his mitt, cream falling to the floor first and then the back of his hand for good measure. Ben laughs while the guy proceeds to scarf down the rest of his treat.

“We can celebrate later, alright?” Ben said. “Maybe after I get the job? Right? Don’t want to jinx it.” 

“Aw nah, man. Nah,” Finn promises he wouldn't pull him out just yet. “Can’t be screwing with the balance, there. I getcha, but the moment... I mean THE moment you’re in, you tell me, all right? I don't want to be the last person knowing, especially with Rose being so damn good at reading faces. I just, you gotta give this to me buddy.”

Again, Ben can’t’ hold back the smile creeping across his face, agreeing with Finn that he would, in fact, get the first call. 

“No going back, man,” Finn pushes. “Not even for a pair of pretty eyes, you get me?”

At his nod and shake of his friend’s hand, Ben hears the door open to their room, and the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen manages her way inside. 

“Sorry,” she apologizes so sweetly. “Is this Benjamin Solo’s Class for Parental Survivability? I’ve been all over the building, and I’m probably on every camera now, knocking on doors and being super creepy.”

Ben looks at her in shock, like he’s somehow been transported back into time to when he was a high school student, completely taken aback by a girl in his shop class. The girl had been there only for several weeks, not even enough time to really know her name, but those eyes, that smile… Ben’s heart skips a beat now, hoping it’s her.

“Uh, uh, yeah. Yep,” he manages to stutter out. “I’m Ben Solo, and this is Parental Survivability.”

Finn’s eyes widen only marginally, not enough to call attention to himself, but nonetheless very clearly seen. 

“Hey! Yeah, that’s Ben. I’m his life-long friend, Finn, and we welcome you to freedom hour.”

“Two hours. It’s two hours,” Ben promises. “And there’s food, and tea or coffee, if you like.”

“Oh! Really? That’s very kind of you,” the woman says with a smile. “Is it just-- do you just do that to do it? I hope someone else picks up the slack; it doesn't seem fair for you to, unless it helps. You know, with the feeling of providing and all.” 

Well, isn't that just it? Ben really doesn’t know why he does it. He just does. And so, as no answer comes from him, and her soft, yet expectant look begins to soften, he thinks he’s losing her. 

“It’s okay. I do it too. You would not believe how much kids relax with an extra shot of sugar in their systems. I know that's totally backwards to say, but the donut holes with the layer, and I mean _layer_ of sprinkle dots on them are exactly what every kid needs to wake up and stay even-keeled at the same time.” she laughs, “Then they take off like firecrackers at school.” Her grin grows wider. 

“Oh, ho… So you’re a troublemaker, eh?” Finn asks with a smirk. 

“Nah, they started it. The teachers.”

“I feel like there’s more to this story.” Ben interrupts, “but it looks like we’re starting now. So, why don’t we carry on at the end of this, Ms...?”

“Rey,” she so casually gives him her name that it feels right, natural. 

“I’m Ben,” he replies, then realizes he’s already introduced himself, but thankfully, she doesn’t bring it up. Maybe this Rey is the girl he remembers after all. Or maybe he’s just dreaming, but it feels real… real enough to chase… real enough to hope.

As the rest of the class makes it in, Rey just happens to step in close and whispers, “I’d love a chance to catch up,” which he’s sure will linger in his ears for the rest of eternity. 

\---Rey---

Could she be any more nervous? 

Well, maybe… that is if Ben remembers her at all. That would be weird, wouldn’t it? It would be weird owning up to the fact that Rose has been her pen pal for the last twenty-some-odd years since they’d been split up from that group home all that time ago… and it would be weird of her to bring up how she’s kept up with Rose, and their relationships, and progress over the years. It would be weird to blurt that out, wouldn’t it? 

Rey clasps her hands together, wringing them nervously, as she’s always done. Then she lets them go as she turns away from him, greeting the new faces that are joining them today in class. 

Oh, that’s funny to think. Ben was always rather quiet in the classes she remembers seeing him in during high school. In fact, she thinks back to the time he actually noticed her for the first time, being the only girl in the shop class. He’d been vocal when it came to what he knew and what others managed to miss. It wasn’t like he was just being a jerk or anything, he just had this way of speaking to people. It was casual, the manner she’d seen in so many of those Hallmark movies the supervisors of her last home seemed to like to watch on repeat. 

He could be gentle with her, though, she tells herself. Ben would come up behind her and make her feel cared for, what with that big frame and even bigger heart. She sighs wistfully at the recollection, but only then does she realize she isn’t in the privacy of her own apartment, and was now rather calling attention to herself in the center of the classroom instead. 

Blinking her way back to the present, Rey finds herself smiling at the newcomers, and eventually is introduced by Finn to a very tall, thin woman with a shock of blonde hair and the most amazing crystal blue eyes she’d ever seen. 

“Gwen, this is Rey,” he says with a knowing smile. “She’s got boys… all boys…”

“We’re at the fuck-you-fives,” she deadpans.

“As in they’re all five?” Rey asks in shock. “You poor woman! How in the world…”

“Oh… oh _gods,_ no. As in I was at the ‘fuck-you-fours’ in boy count, and was promised a girl all the way up to birth for my last one, and apparently they missed _it_ on the body part check, and surprise! No girl. Tied those tubes immediately after,” she huffs sarcastically. 

“So, basically she screwed up her chances to pop out a little league team all because he wasn’t a girl,” Finn teases.

“I heard girls are nice.” Rey doesn’t hesitate, and never had. Then she adds, “There’s always adoption.”

“Oh, no… not with my savages. No little girl deserves that.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means you’ll have to wait for after snack time to hear what they pulled today,” Gwen promises with a wink. 

“Is it that bad?” Finn rejoins the conversation. 

“If it has me stress-eating, and willing to lick the box, and everyone’s fingers just to feel like I can function again, yes… the answer is yes.”

All Rey can do is grimace and look away. Boy, is she thankful Gwen has found another… seemingly snarky companion to sit near. She sighs quietly to herself, trying to bring herself back to stress level one, or better yet, none. While she’s trying to even herself out, though, the noise in the room grows steadily around her. People are yammering on about their likes and dislikes about all types of things, including their kids; insinuating their vocal patterns, whines, cries, anger management issues… and gods, help her if she hears one more person complain about the teachers at school. 

All right, fine. So what if she doesn’t think she’s too far out of it to think like any of them? Who said she has to, anyway?

Her kid’s dealing with enough at school and socially after seeing her on the news, fleeing a burning apartment complex. As it turns out, kids can be mean. Really mean. They’d commented on all the possibilities of what could have happened, including the conspiracy theory that she’d started the fire to get into the building they are in now, but it’s all bullshit. 

Between the two of them, Rey knew that they weren’t those things people said of them. They were innocent, had been proven so, and deserved to live a better life with every penny she saved to get it. 

Her lips settle into a thin line. She reminds herself that a fight is not why she came, and so she forces a smile that shows her teeth and reaches her eyes before settling on a green folding chair that faces Ben. 

—Ben—

“All right, all right,” Ben starts, readying the group for their session. “I hope you all made it here without a problem.”

Gwen rolls her eyes every single time, and Ben has learned to scan the other part of the room when she does. Calling on that woman meant jeopardizing the entire chat time, and today, he let the breath he was holding slowly ease out of him. Today needed to be about everyone, not just Gwen.

And by everyone, he really means Rey. If anything, this is the best surprise non-date of his life, and he doesn’t need people jeopardizing it for him, especially not the brash comments that could come out of that woman. 

“Yeah, we’re good, Solo. I mean I did make it here unscathed with the goods,” Finn chuckles. “I highly doubt anyone else could have had a harder time avoiding people to get here.”

“I highly doubt transporting a box of donuts was as difficult as you say, Storm,” Armitage deadpans. “Me on the other hand,” he lifts his right arm to show his wrist with a look of annoyance. 

“What the hell happened to you?” Finn asked.

“Sophie. Sophie is what happened,” Armitage responded with a huff.

“She still thinks you’re a detective?”

“Nah, now she thinks I’m the asset. You know, the moron in the story that keeps getting into more trouble?”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Well, today Daddy got chained to a plastic briefcase she painted black, and had to sit through two bus rides and a cab, nodding to onlookers who clearly don’t have kids as if it’s totally normal.”

Ben’s smile starts to widen from the normal one he’d usually give - normal to clear across his face, showing nearly every tooth to the point of near-pain in his cheeks, but he couldn’t stop. 

Armitage gives him his typical exasperated look, knowing full well he hadn’t shared all the details. 

“And?” Ben prompts him to continue. 

“And?” the redhead parrots stubbornly. 

“It’s with you,” Ben points, still trying to cover his growing grin, “isn’t it?”

Armitage scoffs, giving the chain an ornery shake, “You know it is. I can’t get it off.”

“Sounds like a personal problem,” Gwen snorts. 

“Oh don’t worry, Gwen. Unlike yours, I know how to share. And when it’s off it’s all yours,” Armitage retorts. “I’ll just be more creative and strap it to your ankle.”

“It won’t fit,” Finn laughs. “Look at those boots!” 

“Nothing’s getting around those things,” Ben adds. 

“Dogpile?” Armitage offers. 

“Now you sound like my kids!”

“It’s worth it,” Finn adds.

“How is this worth anything? Grown men… that’s what you call yourselves?”

“ _Tall_ men,” Finn corrects. “Nothing about it makes us mature. You have that to look forward to. Every fall, every fart - everything is funny to a guy.”

Ben just happens to turn to Rey to find her biting back her smile, so he allows the ragging to continue a minute or two more. Boy, is he made to regret it.

The guys have settled with the notion that they would get the boots off her one way or another and that she would be going home with a limited edition My Little Pony spy pack cuffed to one of her legs… which spiraled into Gwen egging Armitage on to pose like those pony porn stars. 

The fact that he can’t totally regain control of the conversation after that - thanks Gwen - is _so_ embarrassing. 

“I’m just saying,” the virago herself urges. “If they put all that effort into the show, don’t you think they’d think through positioning them like that?”

“You seem to know a lot about this for having boys,” Rey pipes up, turning all heads in her direction. “I mean? I suppose they do brand to everyone…”

“Oh my gods, the new girl has you figured out. I bet you binge-watch that stuff when everyone passes out for the night,” Poe chortles. 

“Why wait?” Armitage presses. “You know she’s got control over all the assets at home.”

“Oh yes, like a damn goddess of the household... I control it with an iron fist,” Gwen proclaims.

“I was going to say metal spoon, but I guess that works,” Armitage snarks back.

“I like goddess better,” she snorts. “I mean look at this figure, after that many—“

“Okay, thank... _thank_ you. That’s more than enough...” Ben starts.

“Yeah, no one needs to know what happened. We... we’ve been there,” Finn comments, unable to repress himself. 

“You haven’t been there,” Gwen continues, totally ignoring Ben, “the only other person that could have possibly been there is Rey. Go on, tell ‘em I’m right. Or your story... but mostly that they have no idea what they’re talking about.”

—Rey—

Rey freezes in her seat. 

“My story?” she asks meekly.

No one really wants her story, not from the looks of it, at least. She really didn’t care to specify what type of a relationship she’d left behind her, either, especially not in front of her high school crush. 

“Oh, well… I couldn’t… really,” she begins nervously. 

“You can. We all have ours,” Ben encourages her, pointing out people in class and giving their very well-known and shared bits of their lives. “Finn here is working on it. Armitage has one girl and three cats because he won’t buckle down and get her a pony.” 

“It’s much cheaper than a horse… we’ve been through this. Even if I buy her a new one every year it still won’t be as much as a horse and all the maintenance,” the man gripes.

“Uh-huh,” Ben nods. “Gwen’s one I’d run from. If given the chance, she’ll tell you every last detail, including flesh- and blood-loss.”

“Yeah?” Gwen replies, nudging Armitage’s chair over with her foot. “I’d like to see you lose that and have to get up in two days.”

“Last time you said two hours,” Finn jabs at her, gaining yet another one of her dirty looks.

“Poe has a set of triplets through a surrogate who he’s currently dating.”

“I’d just like to let the record show that this occurred _after_ we found out about the multiples and we just kind of grew together,” the handsome reprobate explained.

“Aww,” Rey turns to congratulate him. 

“Thanks, it’s pretty sweet. She’s got the nicest…”

“Okay!” Ben interrupts. 

“What? There’s something that needs to be said about the change of a woman’s body. I mean tiny is great and all, but she filled out, and it’s a whole different ball game,” Poe says with a smirk.

“Ya done?” Ben asks pointedly.

“Yeah I mean I could be but I can totally keep going. I mean, if you want. You know, for all the grown ups in here.”

“Stop…” Ben begs.

“You’re sure?” Poe asks with mock-solicitousness.

“Very…” Ben replies, looking back to Rey. “And then there’s me. I’m a single dad. I have twin tween girls, and would be shit out of luck if I didn’t have Finn and his girl.”

“Nice save, Solo. She would have killed you if you just said it was me.” Finn congratulates him with a laugh.

“She’s watching them now. I wouldn’t dream of it,” Ben looks away from Finn and back to Rey, letting her know she doesn’t have to share if she doesn’t want to. “We’re all… found family here, if you like to think like that. It just makes it easier to heal from the pressure of day-to-day life and parenting, too.”

Rey can feel the way her smile fades before nodding thoughtfully. “That’s a really nice way to put it.” She swallows nervously. “There’s not really much to tell. I never really found the right guy, and I was tired of being alone, so I saved what I could before I got too old to have any chance at a family. Before I knew it, he’s thirteen and has enough sass to throw down with the best of those online twerps. But that always seems to come back at me when he’s wound for sound, claiming obnoxious things that those brats at school fill his head with… sorry…”

She’s not sure how it all flowed out of her like that. It just did, and what's worse is the entire room is silent.

“You know how that is, don't ya Ben?” Finn speaks up quietly. 

“Which part? Because being left does not sound like that,” Ben glares at his friend. 

“Nah, man. Your girls - Adriana has a powerful bite. I’m literally terrified of her on a monthly basis.”

Rey blows out an exasperated breath, beginning to smile again, and Ben sees what his friend has done, grateful. 

“Oh, it’s awful. And the things she can say to people… There. Is. No. Filter,” Finn embellishes dramatically.

“There really isn’t,” Ben confirms. 

“And… how do you manage your stress?” Finn prods at him.

“You know full-well how.”

“Tell _her_ ,” Finn pushes, raising his eyebrows significantly. 

“What? Tell me what?” Rey perks up, listening intently. 

She watches Ben take a deep, steadying breath, then look up to say, “I sing a remixed version of, ‘If You’re Happy and You Know It,’ to them, based on what they’re doing and what they need to do.”

Rey giggles, closing her eyes as she does, “What?”

“I think we need an example,” Gwen teases, to which Ben turns his head slowly in her direction as if to ask her not to do this to him. 

“So wait, does it help?” Rey continues, genuinely interested. 

“It helps me not want to throw shit,” he grumps. 

“I know the feeling… well. I mean not singing something for comfort, but wanting to throw stuff. Kids can say such messed-up stuff, and then they come back wanting something. You stand there like, ‘do you not realize what you said ten minutes ago and you think I want to make you food?’”

“Right?” Gwen jumps in, siding with Rey. “And the apology is just so you get up to service them sooner than having to wait. Never fails. It really doesn’t.”

“Oh, like the last time when your oldest very clearly chucked the football at Andrew and all hell broke loose after school, and you literally had to haul him to the car like a damn soldier?” Poe snorts. 

“I _am_ a damn soldier.”

“I thought you said goddess housewife.”

“It goes under the same category. Basically, don’t piss off the bitch in me and you’re good.”

“I think you could have benefitted from that song,” Armitage says, casually reaching for the heel of her boot only to get kicked. 

“Nah, I’d have sung it with an unimaginable amount of anger. Someone would have recorded it and had me reported,” Gwen says dryly. “Because, you know, society is trying to cancel itself, and all.”

“Just give me a verse. Ben said it, didn’t he? We’re all family here…” Armitage pushes again, trying to reach for her wrist, instead. 

“Fine,” Gwen agrees, slapping his hand away again like a child. 

“If you’re whining and you know it, come with me. If you’re belligerent and you know it, cry for free.

If you’re throwing a fit for others to see, then that’s how it will be; 

If your tantrum gets to level three, I’m carrying you out you see…(come with me).” 

Gwen pauses for effect, watching the others, including Rey doubled over with laughter, “Better?”

“Yeah,” Ben agrees, reclaiming the floor. “That’s exactly it. I’d remix it for everything from trying to get them to find their shoes when they were small to not wanting to hear who stole the other’s clothes…”

“And boys…” Finn adds. 

“Oh no! I _want_ to know about that so I know which ones to rip apart before they get hurt,” Ben clarifies.

Rey hums to herself, then adds, “I don’t know, though… it seems girls can be quite as mean as boys can. I guess it depends on the situation.”

She watches as Ben presses his lips together and nods in agreement before looking around the room again, and deciding it’s time to give everyone a breather. “Why don’t we take five or ten, maybe, and have some food while it’s still hot? Then we’ll apply this to the crap we’ve been dealing with. Maybe it’ll help everyone get a handle on things, and be more ready to accept help from those trying to give it.”

Rey flushes. Was he saying he wants to help her? That couldn’t be it. Maybe he meant it for the whole group? 

Lost in thought, she doesn’t realize the others have already gotten up and made a run for the pastries. She only realizes it when she notices Ben reaching his hand out to her to help her up, and make her way over with him. 

Rey peeks up at his face subtly. He looks softer in some way despite his crisp, clean attire. She can’t help but think he’s far more established, even though the lot of them have done what they can to help her feel like she can handle this… that she’s normal, and he is too. They all are, she thinks. Well. Maybe Gwen needs to calm down a bit, but then again maybe five boys was more than she could ever handle. It wasn’t fair to judge, after all. 

“So. Rey?” Ben startles her from her thoughts. “Coffee or tea?”

“Coffee, please,” she nods at the dark roast, thinking it would be best, given the unfolding scenario before her. Caffeine… caffeine is good. Great, actually. 

“Anything in it?” his voice seems deeper somehow, as if he doesn’t quite want her to pick up on something. 

“Black is fine.”

“You sure?”

“I’ve got to balance out the pastry, or I’m not coming down any time soon,” she says, suppressing her giggle. She notices the way he seems to bite the inside of his cheek at her quip. Maybe he’s afraid to offend or step over her boundaries, which was a new experience to her. Definitely a first, as so many men in her life couldn’t quite grasp the concept.

“Oh,” he replies carefully. 

The moment she makes it to the boxes of donuts, she notices just how ravenous the group could be. 

“Are you sure you aren’t feeding thirty kids?”

Ben snorts beside her, his hand twisting palm up as if he’d been questioning what she was seeing, too. “Are you serious?” he groans. “Gwen?!”

“No!” she calls from behind Rey, voice carrying in the space as if she was further away than she actually was. “Try again! I have the plain donut and all your cream!”

“ALL YOUR CREAM, BEN!” Armitage squeals shrilly. 

“Check his limited edition pony purse!”

“What, uh…” Armitage’s foot falls have him hauling ass towards the door. 

“Block it… oh my gods, Ben. Don’t let that pastry thief—“ Gwen shouts. 

“Uh, Ben?” Rey finds herself whispering, gaining his attention over the chaos. He looks, and oh… the way he stops to look at her. Rey freezes, seeing his features in slow motion. He looks kind, soft… gentle… and in the time it takes to realize he’s responded to her, she comes back to her senses. 

“I think I’ve found your, uh, thief,” she says. 

His eyes widen fast, and even skeeved out he still seems oddly calm. Rey hesitates even more, accepting his help as he moves around her, shielding her from the creatures just under the desk that she’d spotted. He feels unlike anyone she’s ever been around… being protected by this man had her dying to reach out and touch him. And yet, it was as if she couldn’t quite take that leap all at once. 

It was weird.

“If you’re happy...” Ben starts singing. 

“What the?” Finn asks, baffled.

“Why is he singing?” Poe asks. 

“...and you know it...” he croons calmly.

“What is it?” Gwen asks briskly. 

“He’s lost his mind,” Armitage mutters.

“...get up with me...” Ben continues. 

“You know you could be normal with us and just say what it is,” Gwen adds testily. 

“If you’re uppity and you know it, get up and see…” Ben carefully backs up from the space, curling his arm backward to connect with Rey’s waist and guide her back safely. Her eyes close while she drinks in his closeness, doing her best to allow her senses to burn this into her memory. Somehow knowing instinctively to step back when he did, their bodies moving in perfect harmony, was like something out of a story book, some intrinsic, bond she’d die to have with this man… Ben…

His voice rumbles again as he sings the next verse of his warning song, which calls her in even closer, like a siren’s aria in the sea.

“If you’re good with another species, eating all your sweetsies with their dirty feetsies…”

“Ben, tell me there’s not some bloody rodent in this room, man,” Armitage stalks by the door, the penny finally dropping. “I swear to you, I only took two cakes.”

“Six, unless those were two large ones for your pony box,” Gwen retorts, as she stands to her full height, her boots still intact. “Though, if it’s really a rat, I’d suggest putting it back… they aren’t like kids, you know.”

“And you know?” Poe scoffs. 

“Boys, remember. My pack is about as clever as these little bastards and fit through most holes, too.”

“That’s just weird to say,” Finn replies, gasping when he hears scurrying overhead. “What the?”

“If you miss being happy and carefree, why don’t you follow me?” Rey whispers and touches Ben’s back, just barely the brush of her fingertips, but enough to get him to turn to her and lift an eyebrow. “I have a space you see…”

Her words hang in the air ... just as several long-tailed rats fall from the ceiling tiles between them. Swears came from most of the gathering, and Armitage’s insert about none of this being happy while holding a smiling pony box, had to be the biggest cliche of the evening. 

But Ben’s nod and the dive to cover her was enough of an answer, even if the rest of them made a break for it and just went home.


	2. Chapter 2

“I wonder why it even happened,” Poe started, squirming at the thought of the raining wall of a hairy extended family chowing down on his sweets while the three of them took off down the hall.

“You’re going to have triplets and you think some vermin are the most disgusting things you’re going to see?” Gwen brushed herself off again as she moved down the hall with the trio, leaving along with him and Armitage. 

“You make it sound like I’m going to experience an apocalyptic change,” he teased. 

“You are,” Armitage and Gwen continued, their voices carrying down the hall and out into the street. 

Ben and Finn made calls to the school and pest control on behalf of the school system. It seemed only right to at least try to help. 

“I wonder why there were so many,” Rey says looking back at the door as if they would have made their way out into the streets like they would in the cartoons. 

“I don’t know,” Finn answered. “But I’m pretty sure it has something to do with the majority of the city closing down. Less going on means less food so pockets of them are showing up in buildings they wouldn't be in, homes, and this obviously…”

“Ah. You know I wouldn't have thought about that,” she replied. 

“Well, I just left a voicemail with the office, letting them know about the infestation,” Ben said, pushing his phone back into his pocket. 

“And it’ll be awhile before this gets wrapped up,” Finn assured them then nodded at the pest control van out at the curb.

“You’re staying?” Ben asked. 

“Yeah. I figure after I’ll just head to that Thai place on Seventh and pick up dinner. Do you want anything?”

“Nah, I’m good. I’ll see ya later,” he motioned to Rey to follow him back around the building to hail a cab and waved to Finn as they went. 

The ride home had Rey on edge. It wasn't that she hadn’t shared a cab before, that wasn’t it. It wasn't that she hadn’t cleaned up or anything, she shook her head internally at the idea of that too. Not even the fact that her son would be there was an issue, since well, this wasn’t a date. It really wasn't. She chuckles quietly and thought it was too herself as she went to buckle up. 

“What’s so funny?” Ben’s voice cut through the quiet in the cab. 

Oh…

“Nothing really, just what are the odds? Right?”

“I guess. I mean out of everything that’s gone on up until now, I’m surprised it didn't happen sooner, or that we could even meet in our small groups.”

Rey nodded at that. So much had changed, it was as if they were in some prelude to a science fiction movie where a huge shift in the atmosphere lets the Earth take over. Immediately, she was picturing trees growing up the side of buildings, toppling over the man made structures and wondering if they’d ever see peace in that world. 

Her thoughts had been interrupted by the sound of the cabbie's voice asking for an address, to which Ben reminded her to answer. 

“Oh, I’m at North 83rd and 12th,” she had to stop herself from playing with the ridge of her seatbelt after, “Sorry, I just got caught up in thought.”

  
During their ride Rey asked Ben about how he came about singing a nursery rhyme to get his girls to respond to him. 

“It seems like you were always sort of just figuring things out as they needed them,” she added thoughtfully. 

“I think every parent is. I don't think there's one way to do it either and truth be told I feel like I’m failing all the time. Those songs came up so that Adriana would stop pestering Yaretzi and visa versa. It soon turned into getting them to do things without me telling them how, like putting on their shoes,” Ben groaned and pulled his hands down his face at the same time. “Why do girls like so many shoes? And why, when they're little at least, do they need to take them off and put them back on again?”

Rey laughed adding, “I promise that isn’t only a girl thing. Dillon, my son, would have sensory issues with them. So if the bottom of the shoe peeled up or the glue I used to secure it back to the sole would be too lumpy in a place or gods, it was anything really, if he didnt like it he wouldn't wear the shoe. Somehow he made it through putting them on, riding the bus, and all the way to homeroom until he realized the problem. Off went the shoes and she walked through school in his socks the rest of the day.”

It was Ben’s turn to laugh at that one. 

“I can say that’s a new one,” he grinned. “My girls just like to see how far they can push. So the songs would get them to refocus. So say I needed them to put their toys away, I’d do something like:

If you’re happy with your toys, and want to keep them, (clap, clap),

If you’re happy with your toys, and want to keep them, (clap, clap),

Then we’ll all play pretend, until the very end, 

And put them away when Daddy says then, (clap, clap).

Rey could not hide the grin that spread across her face as he continued through several other renditions of the same song for a ton of other instances. He had been so in his own world, she had been able to retrieve her wallet and pay for their ride without him realizing. 

“Oh, shoot. You didnt have to do that. I could have gotten it,” she heard him babble as he got out of the cab. 

“Next time,” she interrupted him cheerfully.

“Alright, next time,” he agreed, then looked up at the building. 

His frown made her crane her neck to see what he was reacting to. The building was newer and shouldnt have many flaws, well, unless a bird ran into it, which happened from time to time. 

“What is it?”

“Oh, just slightly confused is all. How did you know where I lived?”

  
“I don't, Ben. This is where _ I _ live.”

\-----

Ben frowned at that again, trying to process the fact that she lived in the building. So many questions assaulted his mind. What floor was she on? Were they neighbors? Did he do anything stupid in front of her already?

Rey seemed to just hang there waiting for him to move or say anything, something his ex would rarely do. Why did that just come to mind, he asked himself.

“If you’re happy and you know it, take a few steps like me…” she began which made him shake his head. 

“Rey, you don't have to do that,” he smiled bashfully. 

“Well, something’s holding you up and I promise I don’t bite. There’s definitely food up there since I have to keep stock like I have extra kids living in the walls, which means, I mean, unless you’re into that...” she grinned teasingly.

Again, Ben chuckled, then waved his arm out in front of him for her to lead the way. Maybe the conversation would come up again later, he thought to himself. It would be weird to pop that in now wouldn't it? That he lived here at this address? Right?

“So where are your girls now?” Rey asked, “seeing as you’re able to come spend some time with me and all?”

“Finn’s wife, Rosie, is watching them currently,” Ben shrugged. 

“Rosie?” Rey asked, pressing the button to call the elevator. Ben watched her frown wondering what she was thinking. 

“Yea, I mean her name isn't Rosie, Rose Tico…

“ _ ROSE?!” _ Rey turned her head up to confirm, he thought at least. “ _ Rose Tico? My Rose? _ ”

“ _ Your _ Rose?” Ben stared down at her as if she had three heads. Rey did not, could not have known Rose. Rose was his buddy’s girl. The one that was always around and promised she had nothing else to do to be anyone else's but theirs. 

“Yes,  _ my _ Rose. Rose Tico and I,” her voice dropped to a whisper, “we go way back.”

“You do?” 

“Yeah… She’s always just been there. I don't even, I don't know how she does it either. She just is there and,” Rey cut off, leading into the waiting elevator as the doors opened wide. 

“Makes you feel like she's always just been there for you, no matter what,” he added, following her in.

“Yeah, it always made me a little extra jealous when she told me about her boyfriend, which I never really met. She was always just rushing around from one place to the next…” Rey swallowed a lump that built in her throat. “Oh… oh my god, Ben you two aren’t…”

“No! No, that's--she’s married to Finn.”

“ _ Finn? _ Like today’s Finn?” 

“Yeah.”

“ _ Shut up! _ ” she gawked at him, the doors slid closed after, alerting her to press her floor. “When did that happen? I thought she was just seeing someone.”

“It just kind of did? I mean with all of this going on I guess it just made sense to elope?”

“Yeah…” Rey blinked back her frustration with it all. “I mean I get why… I just really thought she wanted that moment. We always used to dream about what life would be like outside of what we knew. And when we reconnected it just never happened I guess. There were just too many things going on and she never really got there.”

“I’d say she did, kinda. I mean, she never really--”

“That's not how a woman works. Just like a man. Not all of us speak up for what we want. It's how we find ourselves in these positions; just barely hanging on to the reality around us.”

Ben knew that all too well. He never really did say anything in opposition to his estranged wife and still the woman took off as she did. He couldn't help but wonder what it really took for Rey to just jump in off the deep end, but asking now seemed wrong in a way. 

“I suppose we should do something about that,” he added and liked the way she agreed. 

The elevator came to her floor and she directed him around the hallway to the end of the building where she had the corner view no doubt. The window looking out at the end of the hallway even suggested it which was exciting as he hadn’t actually been in one of these. 

“I think you’re right.” 

Their conversation silenced as she opened her door. Rey threw her keys in a dish next to it that sat on a table under a large mirror. Next to it was another door which she opened giving way to a closet, then took her coat to hang it up, followed by his. 

“Nice place,” Ben marveled at the open concept, her choice in decor being mostly clean, thanks to the obvious touch of a preteen boy living with her. And somewhat beachy. Most of her furniture matched other pieces in the home which made his eye travel all around, taking in photos, handmade trinkets, around at the layout which was similar to his own aside from the wall of windows he clearly envied, sort of anyway before his eyes fell right onto the woman in question, Rose. “So I see we know the same person, eh Rose?”

Rose’s smile only grew. She knew she would be caught. She knew all along. 

“So is there any more you want to tell us?” Ben questioned, “Like somehow we knew each other all along?” 

Rey swallowed roughly, then coughed behind him. 

“Is that really a thing?” Ben asked. “Do you know me?”

\------

Rey nodded slightly and blushed harder than she thought she would have when he found out. While her voice trembled as she tried to spit out her answer, she decided on doing it in song like he had on the way back with her. It’d be charming, right?

“It’s nice to know you haven’t really changed, (clap, clap)

But truth is I never really knew more than your name, (clap, clap)

I went to the same high school and absolutely felt like a fool, 

For allowing myself to hope that I’d stay long enough to know you, (clap, clap)”

“What?” Ben frowned, not completely able to listen to her message which was only another layer of what she said before. 

Rey tried to stop her nerves. She really, truly just wanted more of his time and did not think that this was how her day was going to go. If anything they could have learned about each other slowly but being connected to each other through Rose made it so much harder. Rose knew she had the biggest crush on him in school and it ruined her having to move. They’d chat and keep up with things and it broke her heart that she never even had a chance with Ben, not even to know him. 

She felt stupid and awful for not saying anything before. She swallowed her tongue each time and it magically became easier to ignore her past… but she knew, she  _ knew  _ it would come out…so it just needed to come out all at once. 

“I’m not sure that it means anything really. We had a class together for maybe a little more than a week and then my family moved and I never saw you again. I just, I don't know, hoped you’d remembered me… and if you didnt I was willing, honestly, to restart as I am now and put all that behind me. I know it isn’t much. I just really liked… you… then…” Rey cringed as every word slipped out. 

She couldn't help but feel small when she said it. He was staring and she just had a nice time out with him at his class… and gods she shared so much of herself as if she had been on a blind date she managed to mess up and now he’s here in her home and she's fudging this all up. A small part of her sniggers about him not getting that far in, and all she can do is hope she didn’t make a face while cringing at herself. 

He still had a chance to leave, the door was right there… but he stood stock still, waiting… but for what?

“Please tell me the rats were not part of this plan,” Ben’s eyes lit up asking as he did. 

“What? Rats?” Rose squealed.

Rey shook her head vehemently. 

“I’m _ not  _ that desperate,” Rey’s mouth popped open hoping he wouldn't take it like that, like he wasn’t worth that sort of dedication. “But I did miss having the opportunity to see you in the halls and in class. I just never thought I would see you again and when Rose said you were in the area, I couldn't help but want to try…”

Ben nodded at that, obviously not sure of what to do with any of this information. It had been written all over his face. 

“You were… you were in the shop class, right? Only girl there. The teacher kept calling you, ‘girl’?”

“Yeah… you remember me?” 

“It was kind of hard not to. I watched you ignore every guy there like they were nothing,” Ben murmured. 

“I wouldn’t say nothing, just not my main focus.”

Ben bit his lip as she did and for the time being she felt as though she’d been back in class. Her nerves ran high with anticipation, hoping she earned a little more of his time. A reaction, a smile, something...and just as he began she felt eyes on her. 

“They’re staring at us aren’t they?”

“Like prairie dogs,” Ben confirmed. 

“What d’ya say we feed them and maybe, catch up?” Rey asked softly, hope in her eyes. 

Ben looked as if he was still shocked but also amused at her interest. 

“Pizza?”

“Pizza, sounds fantastic,” the kids all hummed in the room around them as Rey motioned for him to follow them in.

“It does, doesn’t it?” Rey agreed, surprised at the way he reached his arm around her shoulder to pull her along with them. 

“It does,” Rose piped up. “It sure does…”

\----

“How did you two meet?” Yaretzi began her series of rapid fire questions with a mouth full of cheese.

Ben could not help but feel as though he was in school again, but this time he was being picked at about the possibility of seeing someone...dating… by his children. Ben finished chewing his bite then grinned, deciding to play their cards on them as they do to him. 

“Why don’t you guess?” he said, smugly, watching his girls light up at the challenge. 

Their guesses ranged from the store, to the class, to a long lost lover, which was honestly more poetic than he thought Adriana had in her, but then again, the girl was always surprising him. The last however, made him choke on his tongue and certainly felt as though he would have to take a better look at where they were in terms of dating, for real. 

“Class was right, actually,” he answered, glancing at Rey briefly before going for his soda. 

“Class, as in yours? The one you taught tonight?” Adriana looked Rey over, “huh, that was fast.”

He watched Rey look away from the group as if she’d been slapped. 

“The zing on that one,” she replied, chuckling as she did. 

“I know, right?” Ben agreed. 

Dillon comfortably lounged back in his favorite chair, ignoring the group once again. Rey nodded over to him, “He can be the same way. The things that come raging out of that mouth can peel paint off the walls.”

Ben snorted at the reference. 

“Teens can be lethal… but then there’s the times where you see that they haven’t really changed. Not as much as I think they have at least. Sometimes I still see those sweet little girls. The ones who would play endlessly with Auntie Rose and terrorize Uncle Finn.”

“Oh, I know what you mean there. We just have to get to certain points of the year for this one. He’s a big mush for Christmas cookies and we absolutely binge watch every holiday show and pick at least one pastry to try each time.”

“Oh that sounds amazing,” Yaretzi insisted. “Can we come back for that? Can we, Dad? Rey?”

“I don’t mind,” Rey promised. “There’s always enough and it's usually too much and we find ourselves leaving some out for the birds. I think it might be why we have so many window marks,” Rey babbled. 

“Window marks?”

“Kamikaze pigeons,” Dillon adds. 

The girls laughed at the imagery of such birds flying into the window and Dillon continued to explain the many, many accounts that she had dropped dinner or bobbled dessert because of one of those damn birds ramming the glass. 

“I think they like the crumb cake the best,” Rey added.

“Yea I was surprised to see them come in over the handful you grabbed from the tin.”

“They did what?” Ben asked, ignoring his girl’s incessant need to know if they could come down for these events and more. They asked if they could be there after school, just as a different place to be since so many places were off limits these days. Ben however didn’t seem to reach his question’s answer, but imagined what it was she had done instead. 

“I’m alright with it so long as your father is,” Rey said.

The way she did pinged a spot deep within him, wishing she would refer to him like that again. It sounded almost natural, almost like she should have been guiding them back to him and him back to her this whole time. 

“So long as it’s okay with your m...with you Rey?” 

Cold dread set in. Rey was not their mother, but gods, she was so willing to give them a space they needed, an opportunity for them to reconnect with people their own age and have a life outside of the virus. 

And yet she said nothing, except for the fact that she was alright with all of this. 

“Are you sure?” he asked, his mind blown. 

“Yeah, I figure it would be nice to have more people around for them, and you if you ever wanted to,” Rey said, including him on a level he could understand. The issue now was that the kids did too.

Oohs came from all three of them, but eventually turned to giggles, all of which were excited for this new life, wherever it was bound to go. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
